To help prepare you, we've put together seven questions we commonly ask and explanations for why we ask them.
1. Who are your competitors?
By getting to know who your competitors are, we can see what their websites are like and where your new site needs to be positioned.
For example, if you told us that your competitor is a law firm, we would be looking at different styles of websites compared to if your competitor is a daycare centre.
Knowing these differences, we can also suggest features that would go well with the website and would be expected of a business in your industry.
Additionally, we may also ask what makes you better than your competitors. This will allow us to highlight your differences and make you stand out from the competition.
2. Who are your customers?
This is an important question because without knowing who your ideal customer is, we cannot put together a look and feel that would appeal to them.
Going back to the examples above, if you're a law firm, your customers will probably be looking for a professional image and corporate colours. However, if you're a daycare centre, you'll likely use bright colours and have a playful look and feel to the site.
We also need to keep in mind the age of your customers and some of their other likes and dislikes so that we can target them better.
3. How do you want your customers to contact you?
Having a phone number on your website is pointless if you don't want to receive phone calls. In the same way, having directions to your address is pointless if you're not currently accepting visitors.
By knowing how you want to be contacted, we can highlight this in several areas of your site so that your visitors will always know how they can get in contact with you.
4. Why do you want a new website?
Without knowing what's currently wrong with your website, we can't suggest how you can solve it. For example, you may think you need to have a new website because you're not seeing the number of visitors you used to, or you've had a recent drop in phone calls. However, these reasons don't necessarily mean you need a new site.
It could be that your existing site needs to have a few tweaks made to it, or it could mean that you need to focus more on Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) and having clear methods of contact on your site.
5. What resources do you currently have?
If you're coming to us looking for a new website, but you're not sure what colour scheme to use, or you don't have a logo, our job has just got that bit more complicated. So don't be surprised if you're being asked questions that seemingly have little to do with the website itself.
Another example could be that you want social media links on the site, but you don't currently have social media pages.
But figuring out what you do and don't have, we can tweak our plans for you and make different suggestions based on your circumstances.
6. What is the goal of the new website?
If you want to showcase your photography business or if you want to sell training courses, the functionality of the website will be different.
It also helps if we know what the end goal will be for your customer. For example, if you want your customer to see your photography and then make a booking for a photo shoot, we can have pointers in the right direction throughout the site.
7. Have you seen any websites you like / dislike?
If we can get a feeling of things you like, we can begin to incorporate them into your new site. However, if there are features you absolutely do not like, we will void them like the plague.
Ultimately, we want you to be happy with the work we produce for you; if you're not happy, we're not happy. So if we can find out what you do and don't like early on, we can make changes based on your preferences.
Summing Up
These are seven of the questions that we may ask you if you're looking for a new website. But remember that this isn't a complete list, so don't be put off if you're asked something not included. Also, keep in mind that other web designers may ask you different questions altogether, but if you know the answers to these ones, you're off to a good start.
